Something with the eyes......
by White Crescent
Summary: /"…..I…I had a nightmare, Rinoa… I—" / Well... Part 2 is up... it is NOT as serious as it seems... come on, eat your hearts out, I'm sure some of you HAVE read this bad fic.... *grin* Poor...poor..Squall....*grin* R&R?
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Off you go here, Final Fantasy 8 don't belong to me. It belongs to Squaresoft.

Author's notes: I'm still White Crescent… err…. I suggest you turn back now if you can't handle a badly written and OOC stuff here… I know they're OOC. I know! Gah! I'm hyper. This was done in like 4 hours. And it's what Natalie challenged me to do! Write this! I've got a baaad pairing later… so. If you think you might not be able to handle it….without flaming me… Oh well, this is a fic about Quistis and stuff. I've been thinking of this… *evil grin* Will this badly written fic be a Quall, Quefer, a Zell x Quistis, Quistis x Irvine, or some yuri pairing? Oh well, off I go, here is my badly written, horrible OOC fic, drop in a review, will ya…. Because I'm melting here…….. _

Big sign: "Please let Celes post…. Pleaaaaseee……….." and " This is NOT edited! I just wrote this to calm my hyper mind…."

__

And apparently it didn't work……

~*~*~*

Something with the eyes……..

1

Her eyes fell upon the couple dancing under the pale moonlight, the stars seemingly smiling at them and approving of their love, as she turned to at least see the moon.

It hurt. Though it had been a year already after the pair married, the wound, it was still raw. She loved him. And he didn't love him back. And grimly, she thought of how all the men she loved, somehow never did 'like' her that much enough for it to develop into love. Not that she was ugly, no, but perhaps, she was just too beautiful. Even other women, who pale in her comparison, find men to love them for as long as they lived.

She sighed. The curse of beauty. She never did ask to be this beautiful, to be beautiful enough to have a fanclub following her wherever she went, to be beautiful enough to have boys having her in their wet dreams…….. to be beautiful enough to make it hard to find someone who would love her for what she was truly deep under her skin. Beauty afterall, was only skin-deep.

In her sleeveless wine-red dress, with thin spaghetti straps and a silken shawl to match its color wrapped around her bare shoulders, she found herself walking around the Palace's big party hall. She was strolling around, finding all acquaintances, and people that might interest her enough to take her mind away from her problems.

But that idea, perhaps, made things worse. She found herself envying the other women and even some old friends. It made her rather, regretful of the opportunities she let past. Irvine was with Selphie, happily wed. He was but a shadow of the man who tried to win her heart day and night months ago—and she dismissed him as nothing more but a man yearning for the pleasure of the flesh. Perhaps, men can change, given a chance by their beloved to indeed change…… But then again, she doubted that she would have changed Irvine.

She heaved another sigh, and her eyes strayed to the huge clock hanging behind the orchestra playing another version of Eyes on Me; a slower and much much romantic version of it at that.

For that she grinned, remembering the past Ellone had sent them before, Laguna's past. The man loved Julia Heartily with passion. And she clearly believed that the President, Laguna Loire himself, requested that song. But at the thought of that, her thoughts deepened even more. It was ratehr intruiging, for her, Laguna's whole lovelife was so… interesting. 

Before he ended up with Raine, he loved Julia so much. And somehow, guessing; she wondered if it were truly 'love' because it never seemed that Laguna was interested in bedding the woman. He loved the way she played. He admired her. But was it love?

Maybe.

She never did understood love, having been the person who had never been in a successful lovelife to know what love truly was. Wait, she had never been, in fact, in a serious lovelife. It rather sounds tragic, almost.

But if Laguna loved Julia, could his love for Raine been either lesser or more?

She'd never know.

She was bored. Bored and restless. Everybody was dancing, well, almost, but almost all the people who wanted to dance, were dancing. And she was standing there, almost like a statue, with no one at all offering her to dance.

'Great, just great.' She found herself muttering to herself, 'I knew staying at the hotel was better than this.. I knew it!' her eyes narrowed as they saw the huge open door 'I need to get out of here.'

But she just remained there, standing, watching the other dancers, looking calm and uncaring. Cold. She was good at hiding emotions. But she was never as good as Squall when it came to stability in personalities. She could be cold and demanding one moment, the other she could be the closest friend comforting and consoling someone. Squall, well, Squall was Squall. He was always the same. Even when he changed, he managed to keep a stable personality. What the quiet and thought commander was one minute, was still the quiet and thoughtful commander the other. That was a great quality for a leader. Stability.

But what could she do? She was a woman. And women, no matter what, would still have that nice soft spot deep in their hearts. 

She heaved another sigh and tried to sustain herself from cursing. The song began another round…. And having nothing else to do, she sang in a mere whisper with, singing in almost a hum to herself.

~*~*~*

2

"Miss Quistis? Miss Quistis… Hello??" 

The voice jerked her back into the world and the music filled her background as her mind confirmed that she was indeed still in the party hall. And not in her make-believe world where she was with someone she never thought she would fantasize to be with.

"What?" she asked in the gentlest, most suppressed voice she could muster after being almost 'rudely' interrupted from her fantasizing. She almost flushed deep red in embarrassment as she found herself face-to-face with the president of Esthar, Laguna Loire, smiling impishly in front of her. She shouldn't have been that… irate.

"Have you seen Squall?" Laguna questioned, his hands placed on his waist just as he usually did, even while wearing his formal tuxedo. The man was forever younger than his son was. And while she herself could be said as having a mind more mature than the Estharian President, she wasn't irritated, but in fact amused. The man was optimistic.

"I just saw him with Rinoa in the Balcony, having some quality time together, President Loire." She explained.

And because of that optimism, the man had seemingly hardly aged, except for some unnoticeable wrinkles. One could even mistake him as his son's brother even!

The President, in his early forties, and with the look of someone in his late twenties instead, started chuckling. "Didn't I clear it with you guys? Call me Laguna. Yep, just Laguna." He said in his rather amusingly happy voice.

Quistis couldn't help but smile. The man would never let reality catch up on him….

"But you are the President, aren't you?" she stated. The President grinned.

"Yep. But I hate being called 'President' this that, and Mr. Loire this that… get's me suffocated." Laguna reasoned. Quistis folded her arms in amusement.

At least the man was willing to talk to him. And he was talking honestly. Most men either don't want to talk to her, or only said about their achievements and things to impress her.

"Sometimes, I doubt if you're really Squall's father." She started, raising an eyebrow while questioning.

"You don't know how I reacted when Elle told me about him." he replied, before turning his head to his right and uttering a hasty excuse.

"Yep, that's Squall, gotta go." he'd said. And he left her and disappeared into the sea of people.

And she just faintly whispered, "yes"

And she found herself picturing those emerald eyes somehow. Those optimistic emerald eyes very unlike any eyes she'd seen.

~*~*~*

She hugged the pillow tighter and closer to her small body. There it was again, the stupid feeling of 'love'. She knew what finding someone's eyes incredibly attractive meant. It was like how she found Squall's eyes immensely sexy and mysterious, and how Seifer's eyes were filled with hope and determination.

Now the eyes were filled with optimism and thankfulness; and it belonged to a man who may very well be her father. A married man whose son was the lion she fell for a long time ago.

Great, just great.

Love can be so uncomfortable, can't it? It strikes when your defenses are down. It strikes when you least expect it. 

__

Snap out of it! The man is in his forties! He's the president of Esthar, and he's the father of your Commander and former love! Snap out of yourself Quistis! Forget about it!

She bit her pillow and tried to think of things to get her mind of the man, and thought. Maybe she needed to see other single men more. Afterall, she was starting to hopelessly fall in love with the most unlikely men…. What was next? Doctor Odine?

She threw her pillow across the wall and cursed mildly for thinking of such thoughts. 

But she was also partially relieved; The _were_ leaving for Garden tomorrow. It would make her easier to take her mind of things. She just hoped that 'sudden thing' wouldn't develop like it did with Seifer and Squall……

How was Seifer anyway?

She needed to know.

~*~*~*

3

~*~*~*

She found herself stepping out of the train and breathing in the fresh saltwater air. Fisherman's Horizon, Seifer's haven. She sighed, how was he doing?

She ran a hand into her untied hair as it flailed with the wind. She paused after recognizing the Mayor's house and adjusted her sandals. Nothing seemed changed. Nothing at all. 

How was Seifer doing?

She breathed in deeply and somehow loved the fresh air. Or maybe it was the fact that she felt warm all over thinking of Seifer.

Things didn't really work out well with them before, maybe they could give it another try. Besides, things didn't even seem real before.

She pulled an old crumpled piece of paper from her handbag, and read the ink writing on it. Seifer's Address. He had thrown it to her when she decided to leave Fisherman's Horizon after another argument between them. He didn't want her to leave, but she left anyway. 

She found her remembering the old path she used to take to his small house and some rather sweet memories with him worth remembering. She finally realized. She missed him. She was confused all those time. And she really missed him now, really.

She stopped in front of a door; his own house's door and slowly and almost hesitantly knocked gently. 

She missed him dearly. Things… should go well from there. She was older; he was too. They….. must be ready.

There was a soft creaking sound as door opened, and behind it stood a woman, with long silver hair and deep blue eyes. Fujin. At that moment, her stomach tightened. What was Fujin doing in Seifer's house?

She assured herself; Fujin was Seifer's bestfriend. Whatever it was, she must be there because Seifer had wanted to show her something. It had to be.

"Quistis?" Fujin's voice was considerably softer and more pleasant to hear than what Quistis remembered hers to be. She replied with a nod and Fujin made way for her to come in.

She was confident. Seifer, things would work out between them, finally. 

"Seifer?!" Fujin yelled in a way that would never resemble how she used to scream a long time ago. She wasn't even wearing her eyepatch. 

And that pretty much answered a question for Quistis. The patch was just for fashion.

"—Coming Fuu!" A voice called out from within one of the rooms. And it was Seifer's voice.

Fujin offered her to sit, and as soon as she was seated, the silver-haired woman sat in one of the seats herself. "What brings you here?" Fujin asked in a natural friendly way.

Quistis smiled sweetly. "I was jus—"

"Quistis!" 

She looked up and saw, a very mature Seifer, wearing a simple white woolen sweater, and plain jeans. He wore the brightest of smiles, and his eyes gleamed, attracting her even more. 

Changed.

"Seifer, I never thought you'd be able to give up your trenchcoat!" Quistis remarked as she looked up. The blonde grinned.

"I figured it had to go. Besides, it did cause a lot of arguments…" he trailed away. Quistis remembered how troublesome that treasure trenchcoat was, and it often was the start of their arguments……. "So," Seifer sat beside Fujin. "What brings the Ice Goddess here?"

Quistis stifled a laugh, but maybe it showed that she was uncomfortable of something. And that something was the fact that Seifer sat beside Fujin and not her.

"Nothing…. I.. umm…." She trailed away at the sound someone wailing. Quistis was about to ask what it was, but Fujin quickly excused herself and disappeared in one of the rooms.

"What was that, Seifer?" Quistis questioned. And at that moment, Seifer's face softened.

"That's our daughter, Gale." Seifer explained. He knew why she was there, and she knew it too.

"Oh." Quistis managed. She was utterly shocked at what Seifer said, but she managed to hide her feelings enough.

"I married Fuu almost a year ago…. I.. I'm sorry, Quis. I told you that I'd wait for you. I guess, I couldn't wait any longer." He explained. She rubbed her forehead and smiled at him. 

"No, no, it's okay. I was just checking on you guys. I was surprised though. I had no idea earlier why Fujin was in your house….." she trailed away and turned her eyes to the rooms. "So, how does little Gale look like most?"

Seifer threw his head back and laughed. "Well for one thing she doesn't look like me much—" he stood up and turned to her, "maybe, more like you, Quis. Want to take a peek?"

She stood up, her smile unwavering. "Absolutely." And she followed him into the baby's room.

But deep down, she was hurting. And it was torture.

~*~*~*

4

~*~*~*

Her eyes bolted open at the sound of the beeping digital alarm clock. She groaned slightly and pushed back her messed up hair. Sometimes, technology can be really annoying.

She stifled a yawn and rubbed her face with her hands. It wasn't like she had a class to handle like before. And things were boring, now that she was a 'real' SeeD.

Utterly boring.

And without anyone to waste time thinking about, she was running out of things to occupy herself. She got herself off the bed and right after she threw her blanket recklessly on her bed, she grabbed the beeping alarm clock and jabbed her palm on its button.

Good riddance.

She then walked towards her laptop and turned it on. The friendly screen made a musical beep as the screen popped and she moved the cursor over her calendar and gawked at it.

It was Saturday. 

And she knew half the Garden's population would be out partying somewhere if not in their own rooms. She sighed, and the sigh turned into a groan from the sound of someone calling through the intercom.

Yep, SeeD life has no care for what day it is….. 

She rushed towards her door and ordered it to open. It did so with a gentle whoosh and revealed a uniformed Xu standing with a gentle smile on her face.

Marriage did wonders for Xu, Quistis thought. It made sure Xu always wore a smile no matter what in the mornings.

"Good Morning Quistis." She greeted. Quistis smiled faintly and breathed in deeply to stop herself from feeling any grudge at all towards the happy married SeeD.

She sarcastically noted to herself, most of the SeeDs she knew were married…….

"Good Morning, Xu." She greeted back, and after smoothing her rough uncombed hair withing a fast moment she quickly asked Xu of why she was there. "Do I have a mission?"

Xu shook her head, and then her eyes trailed away. "Not really a mission. The Headmaster Cid just told me that you should bring some reports to Esthar. To President Loire since Squall is too busy with paperwork himself, and all the others are preparing for the upcoming Garden Festival."

Quistis frowned slightly; so she was asked to take some report because she was the only one who wasn't doing anything. "So I need to take this because I'm actually slacking?" she questioned sarcastically in a friendly way.

Xu smiled. "Yes. You should groom yourself fast. The Ragnarok's leaving in an hour. I wou—"

Quistis cut her. "Ha, of course, now let me close this door and step in for a nice warm shower. Good day." And she closed the door.

She caught Xu's laughter before the door slid close. Esthar. What's it going to do to her to go there? Besides, it was time to get some new clothes…….. 

~*~*~*

"It's you, Quistis?" Laguna scratched his head at the entrance of the blonde in his office.

And as usual, Kiros was standing beside the President, in the old what has to be said, goofy, Estharian Officials' uniform.

The door closed behind her and Quistis smiled. "I was the only one slacking, so they had me bring the report." She stated as she walked over to his desk. "They're all busy with the Garden Festival." She placed the reports on the desk then placed her hands on her waist.

"I think they're making so much fuss because you were invited afterall." She muttered.

Laguna sat on his seat and looked over the report while talking with her. "I dunno about them. I told them not to fuss about it a lot, but heck, I guess you can never do anything about Selphie." He grinned and looked up her.

"So how's everyone back at Garden?" he questioned.

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just have a party for your birthday a few days ago….." she trailed away. Laguna chuckled.

"Guess I forgot. I am getting old, so chill, how're they?" he questioned again.

Quistis shrugged. "Same old. Though I guess, I'm not surprised that the office has that 'Do not Disturb' placard hanging a little bit too often."

At that Laguna grinned. "Must be Rinoa."

"Well it can't be Squall, can it?"

Laguna laughed. Then he paused. "You know, since Selphie can't come here, I guess I can use your help."

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "What?" 

It was getting somewhat…. Irritating?

Laguna scratched his head. "Well, I've been pretty lonely and seeing my son happily wed makes me think of getting myself a new wife….. " he trailed away.

Quistis doubled up in laughter. At least she didn't feel the eye thing. And at that moment, she was avoiding any eye contact.

"Whatever." She muttered when she regained her composure in an attempt to emulate Squall. It was really amusing though, and she couldn't imagine how Squall would look…..

"—And I have close to no idea how to get one. Besides, being stuck in this office… I think I've lost my charm…….." Laguna explained.

"Hyne, please, just get to the point or I'll end up laughing my lungs out!" Quistis chided suppressing herself from laughing.

Kiros rolled his eyes at the man's utter foolishness… But being a fool made someone cute…….

"Okay, okay. I just need someone's help to get me some nice new clothes and to go with me to some place where single's hang out……………" Laguna finally said.

"Save the poor man's soul before he becomes crazy, Quistis." Kiros non-chalantly muttered and Quistis found herself further amused as Laguna turned and actually narrowed his eyes at his friend.. just as if he were some teenager………

Quistis laughed. "Okay, okay, I think I'm in need of finding myself someone and some clothes anyway. So when'll we shop?"

Laguna's grin reached from ear to ear, "How's about tonight? You're no doing anything right?"

Quistis shook her head, "Sure. Shopping huh?"

"Yep." Laguna replied and happily read through the reports.

And as she exited the room she cleared her mind. 

..It isn't a date for Hyne's sake! 

~*~*~*

5

~*~*~*

"I told you blue things look very good on you." Quistis whispered as they entered one of the transporters. 

Laguna grinned, holding some shopping bags. "You're just saying that 'cause I always wore that blue jacket before." He paused and look up to her.

The eyes. The eyes were staring into her. And she froze and lost herself for some moments before she regained her voice again.

Stupid love. No, actually, it was stupid mind. You can afterall practically fall in love with anyone you want to……..

……..But she certainly did NOT ask for this. The man was in his forties……..

"I guess so. But, blue has always look good with green." She explained. The transporter stopped and they stepped out. Laguna had that grin. "So, it's your turn, huh?"

She nodded not really caring. 

"Oh well….. so where are we off to?" he asked her. Quistis rolled her eyes.

For the first time in the night, she finally felt some annoyance. And it was probably because she knew she was 'liking' the man when she didn't like him at all.

"I'm asking you, Mr. President—" She said smiling, "—this is your city."

Laguna couldn't help but scratch his head.

~*~*~*

"Red looks good on you." Laguna declared as he watched her turn around in a red tight and strapless dress. It was also rather short. And it made Quistis feel uneasy.

"I always wear red." She mumbled. 

Lagune clicked his tongue and then walked over to some clothes. "Then what's the use of looking for red clothes? Try green."

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "When did you last shop with your wife?" she questioned.

Laguna grinned, and she realized what she'd just asked. 

"Raine never did like shopping a lot. Guess Squall got most of his characteristics from her……" he trailed away and was about to put back the green piece of clothing when Quistis walked over him and took it from his hand.

She smiled. "I'll try green, then we're gonna hunt out for those single women, okay."

And she walked into the trying rooms. 

The man was kind of someone to feel pity for. And she thought of him as rather foolish, and childish.

But whatever, he _was_ cute.

~*~*~*

6

"And the frog turned prince afterall. Ward says Quistis did a good job." Kiros commented as Laguna showed off his new clothes.

Quistis grinned and felt slightly proud. Laguna actually did look younger…….. 

She looked down on her emerald green slim dress. According to Laguna, she looked hot. Hot enough to catch the eye of every single man in where they were going.

And well, Quistis couldn't help but tell Laguna he would have all the women too drooling on him. And it that it would be hard to say that he was a president……

Shopping and talking with Laguna was actually more fun that what she'd imagine it to be as they rode into a club. It was fun. The man was a natural when it came to talking and he was actually interesting.

And sometimes, she couldn't help but find herself remembering the man who got his foot cramped whenever he got nervous……..

Whatever, she was going to have fun tonight; With or without anyone except the president of Esthar.

~*~*~*

7

~*~*~*

~--*Quistis' Livejournal*~--

I know I haven't been posting for a long while. I haven't had things to write. My life has been pretty uneventful….

But I had some fun after delivering the report to Esthar. And that is quite very unlike me.

Laguna, The President that is, asked me to go shopping with him. It sounds odd. But I guess he being that 'moron' Squall said of him a long time ago, he thought that having a girl shop with him would help him buy better things.

I guess he was planning on asking the resident designer, Selphie. But I guess with the Garden Festival and all coming up soon…… He had no choice but to ask me!

And I think I'm not even keen on fashion… Just because I'm what they call gorgeous, that doesn't mean I have the ultimate knowledge in fashion. But it was fun, really.

Two people who'd been alone from the fashion world for such a long while wandering on the streets of Esthar…. It was just actually, pathetic.

Actually; cute.

I think he was a bit too naïve…. He had this trust in me… and my whip. He didn't call for any bodyguards, which was a good idea.

And well, it was even more fun when we went out to that club. It was just all to dark, and the smell of smoke was everywhere we ended up getting out for fresh air, and having fun ourselves. It was like we were of the same age!

Believe me, we even ended up playing some game in some arcade center. 

And, well…. We just had so much fun, he suggested that we should have fun more often…. Even with the whole gang.

But you know, I think…….. 

~----* End Journal * ----~

~*~*~*

"So, who did you get….dad? Since you are introducing her to us soon, can we at least have an idea who she is?"

"Well, she's a lovely girl….."

"Every girl's lovely."

"She's a blonde….."

"There are tons of blondes out there."

"She has blue eyes."

"……"

"And she's younger than me."

"…… And how long have you been going out with her…..?"

"Well, um…. Almost a year……….."

"……"

"Awww… come on, it's not like I married for you."

"You're married?!"

"Yes."

"Since when?!"

"Yesterday."

"……… Why do I—" 

~*~*~*

She turned to him and shook her head. "I told you this was a bad idea."

And he shrugged, "I didn't think he'd react like that……….." 

~*~*~*

Author's note: NOOOO! DON'T!… *runs away from fruits and cactuars thrown by avid Quall, Quiefer, Quistis x Irvine, Quistis x Zell, and all sorts of pairing fics involving Quistis fans* Ouch! *but fails and eventually gets pounded…….* I know it's badly written. I know I'm gonna get flamed. I know, I know….

But I also know I'm going to shock Natalie! MWAHAHAHAHHAHA~~ *gets hit by some tomatoes on the face* I made this fic to frighten her as she seriously begged me not to do the pairing…. I couldn't resist but try! MWAHHAHHAHAHAHAH~~ Yeouch! *stoopid cactuar…..* Anyway, off I go, if you want to drop a review, feel free, the review box is open. Right now, I don't care somehow if I get flames for this one… *No! I won't erase it! I deserve it! ;_;* Because I know it's sloppy and badly written, the chars are OOC, and it's pathetic. You don't really think those two can possibly go together, do you? Well, I was thinking of them as older… blah blah.. blah… I'm hyper today. Blame sugar and cup noodles for this. And I couldn't find a nice music to play………. Waaaaahhhhhh *gets hit by some tomatoes again* Sure, I know that already, I'm a bad writer. So I am off. Dear people, please, no more fruits…. *glomp*

~*~*White Crescent

__

Whatever…….

Squall: Of all people…… *palm over head* 


	2. The Why and How... ehm...

Disclaimer: You know that I know that everyone knows that Squaresoft owns Final Fantasy VIII, and not me ^.^

Author's note: Warning, unedited content. Contains OOC content, and ehm…. Stupidity? 

~*~*~*

Something with the eyes……..

8

Laguna watched as his twenty-year-old son as he regained his composure, and finally as he gave him a frown.

"So, dad—" Squall started sarcastically, "—would you mind telling me how you and Quistis ended up together?" 

He scratched his head, and Xu exited the room, leaving the father, his son, and his daughter-in-law. Though, she wished she had a video-cam of some sort……..

Where was Quistis anyway?

~*~*~*

"Thanks." Quistis said as the waiter handed them their drinks.

Iced lemon tea for Selphie, and orange juice for her. She looked in front of her and took a sip of her juice. Selphie was grinning, and she knew what that meant; a whole lot of hard questions. As if the questions were not enough, she had a hunch her friend would also ask about more personal things—afterall she did adore Laguna. She even had a website dedicated for him……..

"So, aren't you gonna tell me soon how you two got together?" Selphie asked quietly, smiling brightly. Nothing much had changed with Selphie, except, she wasn't that hyper anymore.

Quistis laughed, "Can I at least let you finish your drink? You know, you might just choke…….." she trailed away remembering Squall's reaction. Actually, as if fainting would qualify as a reaction…….

Selphie giggled, "Nah, I'm not gonna faint like Squall did!"

Quistis shook her head, "Did I tell you Seifer fell off his seat when I told him over the phone that Laguna and I just got married?"

~*~*~*

"It all, somehow, started for real, I guess, because of—" she took a sip from her orange juice, "—orange juice."

And she smiled, "Well—"

~*~*~*

__

Quistis took a sit in the table, and as soon as she was seated, the raven-haired president sat on the seat opposite of her.

They were starved. Playing for two hours straight in the arcade center was tiring! And it was a good thing the president at least knew of a nice place to dine.

A good meal, a good restaurant, proper clothes—those things might just make the night fully 'fun'.

They were quiet though. Silent. Around them they could hear the clinking of silverware, suppressed laughs, and people chatting. 

The place was filled with couples having a nice candle-lit dinner, with soft music playing, a bottle of champagne, and good food on their table. 

Within a few minutes, their food came, along with a bottle of red wine. Quistis was quick to notice this, and she frowned slightly.

She opened her mouth to say something, "I'm sorry—" she started.

"—I uh, don't drink." Laguna continued.

The waiter looked at them looking rather confused. He turned to Laguna, "Sir, you don't drink?"

"Uh, no….." Laguna trailed away.

Quistis shook her head, " No—" 

"We don't drink." They said together.

…They found their eyes meeting, and Laguna broke the contact, turning to the waiter, he said; "I'll have orange juice." 

The waiter turned to her, and she found herself rather mumbling her selection.

"I'll have orange juice too……." And she trailed away.

~*~*~*

9

~*~*~*

__

"Quistis, I didn't know you don't drink……" Laguna trailed away. And she looked up at him, to see his face wearing a rather childish smile.

Cute. Cute. He acted as if he were younger than her…….

She smiled faintly, laying her steak knife aside. "No, I don't drink actually. SeeDs aren't encouraged to drink. You know, scientific findings about alcohol……" she then grinned, "Besides, I'm underaged." She lifted her fork and pointed it at the president.

"How about you?" she questioned, "I never knew you don't drink." 

Laguna chuckled. Things were finally getting really fun. Really. "Nope, I'm a wimp, last time I drank a glass I ended up falling asleep in Julia's bed." He joked. But it was more like a sarcastic joke.

Cute. Honest.

"Now wonder you do such a good job in governing Esthar—" she paused and narrowed her eyes as she sized him up seemingly. "—You don't drink, you don't smoke, you're optimistic………"

"And, I don't take things seriously." Laguna finished for her. Quistis shook her head, smiling.

"No seriously, you make a good example." She paused and thought a little, "And you do take things seriously. And I mean moderately."

Laguna laughed. Why did she found it easy to talk to him?

Emotions……

"Unlike me, I take things too seriously, I guess, I think older than you." she suggested. 

"It's good actually, taking things seriously, at least you're sure. Besides, if I took things more seriously, I guess, things would be a lot different." He explained quietly.

Quistis shook her head, "And if you took things too seriously, the world as we know it…probably won't exist." She reasoned softly.

He looked up, his green eyes fixed on hers, and he grinned. "Yeah."

How old was he again? 

~*~*~* 

"And I said, 'things happen for a reason.'" Quistis explained as her eyes trailed away to the outside of the coffee shop. She heard Selphie's sighs.

"That was romantic." The brunette declared in a dreamy voice. Quistis only rolled her eyes and chuckled while she shook her head.

"Romantic, huh?" she muttered. The brunette nodded in confirmation. 

"So, did you start going out as 'lovers' immediately then?" Selphie asked. Green eyes glimmering with anticipation, the brunette eyed on Quistis eagerly, watching that mouth as it opened.

"Actually… no." Quistis replied. Selphie registered confusion.

"But things went really well already! You finally felt something, and Sir Laguna did seem to like you a lot!" The brunette whimpered. Quistis laughed.

"Selphie, Laguna likes everyone, a lot. He liked us all a lot. And I remember telling myself that when you two were together, it seemed like you were father and daughter." Quistis sternly explained. An "oh" escaped Selphie's lips.

There was a moment of silent and both women took the opportunity to take long sips from their drinks.

"So, what happened after that? How did you two end up together? What happened befo—" Selphie was starting to sound like one of those end show, suspense other, questionnaire on TV. Difference was, she was talking directly to her not…..

"One question at a time, Selphie." Quistis reminded shaking her head gently.

The brunette smiled, "Okay, so tell me what happened after that."

"Anyway…….." 

~*~*~*

__

Quistis delicately put the last of her clothes in the suitcase and heaved a sigh. Living in Fisherman's Horizon sounded like a good idea. She needed a place where she wouldn't feel as if she was the slacker; The useless SeeD with nothing to do except mope in her room all day.

Problem was, she was to live in Seifer's house, with Fujin and Gale. And that would prove to be hard to get used to. 

~*~*~*

"Wait, wait. That doesn't sound right, Quistis. What happened after that night? I know when you went back at Garden Seifer phoned you to live with them—" she paused and looked at the ceiling. "—But… but…"

Quistis took another sip and sighed. Good thing was, he should be pretty occupied with his son, no, their son, as well, explaining how he and his son's former Instructor got together.

"Selphie, as I told you. Nothing became official yet, for both of us. Though things became a bit clearer for me…. And, I had to return to Garden eventually… But—"

"But…" Selphie interrupted.

"…I did tell him that he could give me a call anytime he had free time so that we could go out and have fun. And the whole Seifer inviting me to live with them just came up, and I agreed. And, Selphie, listen carefully—"

"Yes…" Selphie leaned on the table, her head supported by her hands.

"I did send Laguna an email with my new address in it." Quistis added.

"Oh…" Selphie sat up, "okay, continue."

~*~*~*

10

~*~*~*

"For the fifth time, I did not marry for you…. Maybe because of you.. but… but…"

~*~*~*

"Well, some time after my move into Seifer's home, he called, and we went off to have fun in Deling, with some body guards watching our backs, I don't know. I didn't clearly believe I was in love with the…. him. And we hung out there, with a goal actually. To find a date." Quistis explained.

Selphie's eyes widened in disbelief. 

"Although, I guess, I wasn't actually interested in getting a date anymore, I think, I allowed Laguna to have his way….. And well—"

Selphie hushed her immediately, "And he found someone?!"

Quistis gave a single nod, and Selphie gasped in disbelief. "You could've lost him to some…." She clapped her hands, "I'll be honest, some bitch!"

"I think you've learnt a lot from Irvine—" she trailed away and promptly returned to her subject, "I wouldn't say a bitch. She was actually a well-educated woman who happens to be a very good pianist who can play Eyes on Me beautifully, and whose age isn't that far from Laguna's."

"Hyne. And how did you react? How? How? That's unfair, I can't believe she made Sir. Laguna fall in love with her just because she can play Eyes on Me beaut—" Selphie cried. Quistis heaved a sigh. Must be the drinks.

"And so……."

__

~*~*~*

__

She couldn't help but shift gazes every now and then.

Laguna. Laguna's eyes. 

Trace.

Brunette pianist wearing a nice sexy and revealing wine-red dress.

Laguna. Laguna's eyes……

She frowned slightly. The piano version of Eyes on Me filled the small familiar bar. And the way Laguna was looking at her was making her partly uneasy and thankful.

A half of her was jealous.

The other half was happy that she could finally get on with her life now that Laguna was seemingly taken.

Laguna's eyes.

She suddenly realized Laguna was facing her with his eyes fixed on her. "What?" she questioned in an almost irritated fashion.

Laguna grinned. "Hey, Quistis, what'd you think of her?" he asked her.

Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold.

She turned her gaze to the woman and sized her up, "She's a real good pianist. I can see she plays really well. She's attractive—" she started.

SAY IT! SAY IT!

"—And I think it'll be good to try and talk to her later. She seems friendly enough, just don't blow your cover, yet."

Laguna nodded. And she was tempted to heave a sigh. No was she going to make a fool out of herself in front of the guy. No way was she going to act the least jealous. No way.

And she would let the man be taken by a very good woman. And she silently told herself it'd be for the good.

"I'll talk to her……" Laguna muttered as they watched the woman end her playing and rise up from her seat gracefully. She heard the president rising up his seat, and soon enough, she saw him in front of her, about to walk to the pianist.

"You don't mind waiting, huh?" he muttered before he walked away.

"Sure, no, not at all. Let me alone." She whispered as he mounted the stairs.

~*~*~*

"Wha--? You actually let him walk off like that? How could you?" Selphie cried in disbelief.

Quistis only sighed and rubbed her temple. "Yes, it get's worse, we stayed in Deling for a week after that. And I ended up encouraging him to do sweet things for the woman. By the way, her name was Joana."

"Noooo…" Selphie muttered. "I can't believe you…"

"Believe me, I didn't want to, and yet I wanted to." Quistis explained. "It went on for a month or so, their relationship—"

Selphie started chewing on her thumb, "I can't believe it….."

"And well, it was only when I found something about the woman that, I had the courage enough to tell Laguna about…… I didn't want to tell. The man was a hopeless romantic! And he seemed a little bit too taken with Joana…"

~*~*~*

__

She walked back and forth across her hotel room. She folded her arms. Begging herself to think, just think.

Or maybe at least she tried to beg herself. At that moment, she did not want to think about what to do with a certain woman, and a man. For one thing, the woman was a whore. She had about, she recalled, three other male friends. And from what she found out from trying to follow the woman—because Laguna asked her to—one of them was a university professor, another was a business man, while the third one was some guy from a restaurant. Laguna was the fourth. 

And come to think of it, it did not seem at all like the woman knew who Laguna really was…. Common sense, would you do that to a president of a very powerful country? No way!

Right then, she was problematic about how to break the news to the old man. He was hopeless, and in simple words, he fell head over heels for the woman. But then again, it must have been her and her irate mind…… her irate jealous mind, obviously.

Quistis finally stopped, threw herself in bed, and complained while glaring at the ceiling. "I knew it," she muttered, her teeth gritted, "I should have stayed with them…Picnic with the Almasy family is better than this!" She uttered an irritated scream after that, and grabbed the nearest pillow.

"Hyne!" she screamed, sitting up and throwing the pillow across the wall.

She stared at the pillow, then stood up and picked it up. What was she thinking? What was up with her? 

Maybe, she thought, it was the fact that she was not yet married.

She cringed in hatred, well; the 'bitch' for one, infuriated her. And she was angry, yes, angry with stupid old President Loire for falling in love with 'the bitch' just because she reminded him of his former crush, Julia Heartily—just because she could play the piano.

Say it, she told herself, admit it. Laguna Loire… is a moron. 

"Moron," she muttered, half-heartedly. Squall was right, his father was a moron. She remembered how she defended the man before when Squall complained why of all people was his father 'the moron'. Only then was she truly convinced, Laguna can be 'the moron'. She shook her head and covered her face with her hands, "But then…" he was cute.

Cute. Stupidity made someone cute. Even thought Laguna himself wasn't that stupid.

Maybe foolish, yeah, foolish. She threw herself onto the bed again. However did Raine fall in love with the man again? Now, if she remembered this right, even Raine herself found Laguna…

~*~*~*

"Sir Laguna is NOT a moron! He maybe a bit shallow at times, but he's a really understanding and wise person. I mean he's the Pr—" Selphie was cut off.

The brunette looked serious, seriously funny for being serious. And Quistis found it hard to believe that the hyper brunette was actually serious, and not smiling.

"Selphie, that was before, okay, let me continue! Why would I agree to be wed with a moron?" Quistis retorted, and heaved a sigh. 

"Well…."

Quistis shook her head. And for once, she actually thought talking with Irvine was better than that… _At least he might understand……_

"So what happened?!" Selphie chided.

Quistis sighed, "Oh yes, I'm running out of words here….."

~*~*~*

11

"Quistis?"

She sat up and her eyes fell upon the closed door leading to the corridor. It was Laguna calling her. There was another call and she confirmed it. It was Laguna.

She got off the bed and walked towards the door, reluctantly. Of all the times, he had to choose THAT moment. She certainly was not in the best of moods.

She opened the door, and expected what she saw; Laguna in a dashing suit. He was afterall from a date with his 'lovely' Joana. His expression was that of a boy who seemingly received a very good gift.

She breathed in deeply, as she anticipated the man's announcement.

His lips formed a proud a smile, "She liked it!" he announced as he dragged her into the room and asked her to seat on the sofa. "I mean, heh, Quistis, your advice did wonders! Whoa! If you only saw her!"

She ran a hand into her golden hair and shook her head. 'Yeah, yeah, I saw her wearing that scarf while dating the other guys.' She said sarcastically to herself.

She heaved a sigh and smiled faintly. For a woman of her age, and a man of her age, one might think she was the one in her forties. After all, Laguna acted nothing like a forty-seven year old man would. And right then, she couldn't help thinking she was like his mother even.

"Any girl would have loved what you gave her. Considering the fact that it was actually worth more than a hundred gil." Quistis mumbled. Laguna being a much much sensitive man than his son, probably noticed the way she mentioned this. Was it just him or was the SeeD.. pissed?

But whatever it was, he kept quiet about this and continued his storytelling—which he was absolutely good at. After telling what happened in his obviously romantic night, a little too exaggeratedly… he went on to another topic; "Well, y'know Quistis, we.. uh… we're been planning to go to Winhill next month, you wouldn't mind tagging along with us, right? Right?"

And obviously, Quistis hadn't been paying much attention to his lovely night—which included a romantic slow-dance in some restaurant…… and some cute spaghetti eating that eventually led to a kiss, actually, if Quistis wasn't as irate at that moment, she would have noticed somethings about the way he told his lovely night……

She snapped out of her thoughts and stared at the President. Sarcastically then, she replied; "Next month? What do I bring? A videocam? Some picnic stuff—" the blonde bolted up and glared at Laguna, "Well, President Loire, you just don't treat women that way. You absolutely cannot bring two women on what is supposed to be a romantic date between you and one of the women, okay? Am I making myself clear?"

There was no reply.

Quistis walked over to where her coat was hung and snatched it before throwing the door wide open. Before exiting the room and walking out on the man completely, she threw him one last glare, "That is considered as impolite, President Loire. Impolite, understood?"

The door banged close after her, and she hastily put on her coat as she sped down the stairs and out of the hotel to catch a taxi.

Definitely not the best of moods.

~*~*~*

There was a slurping sound and Quistis found herself staring at the brunette's widened eyes. Selphie, slowly straightened herself and pushed her obviously finished drink away, "You walked out on him?" the brunette questioned. 

Quistis could only sigh as she shook her head, "Yes, yes I did. I was pissed, okay. Now won't you get pissed if Irvine asked you to go with him and his 'new' girlfriend to some romantic place?"

Selphie rested her face on her hands and tapped her fingers on her face, "He did that once, " she smiled impishly, "before we got married. He learned his lesson." 

"Yes, and it pissed you, didn't it?" Quistis asked. Selphie nodded, "I guess it did, I don't really remember….."

Quistis stared at the brunette for awhile and remembered why Selphie wouldn't remember. She was too drunk to remember. Grinning, she realized the main reason Irvine swore never again to even joke in a flirty way with another woman….

"So what happened after that, I mean…" Selphie was cut off briefly by a waitress who came to collect her glass. When the waitress was gone, and she'd finished ordering for another drink, she continued, "You two did end up together…"

Quistis smiled, "Alright… let me continue…"

~*~*~*

__

"What's up, you really aren't looking a bit too happy today." 

Seifer's voice called her back to the world, and she looked up to see him, carrying a fishing pole, bending down. "Good, somebody noticed." She muttered before returning to watching the waves in the water.

In a moment, she found Seifer sitting beside her, "And, I think it's time we switched places, right… now, what's your problem?"

She turned to him and frowned, "Does being single and twenty reason enough for you? I mean—" she finally stood up, and was quite relieved that she didn't have cramps yet, "—look at you all, happily married, some of you even have children. While I'm here, still an old maiden." She sat down again and rested her face on her hand. 

A chuckle escaped Seifer's lips, "Well, Rai's still singl—" He stopped himself after feeling Quistis' glare on him. 

"Don't you even dare compare me with a man. Look, I'm a woman, I have a biological clock, sometimes I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever have any kids at all……" She sighed, "or a husband, at that…"

There was a moment of silence, and Quistis could almost swear Seifer tried to pat her on the back… But she guessed the man knew her better not to touch her when she was pissed.

"You can always go to Winhill." Seifer suggested seriously, "It won't be that bad. Remember what we two almost did at Rinoa and Squall's wedding?"

Quistis looked at him with disbelief.

"I mean, look, you can always mess up their date." Seifer trailed off knowing he'd said a little bit too much.

It was too late though, Quistis had already erupted, "For the last time, Almasy, I am NOT in love with an old man, understood?"

Seifer then stood up and looked at her with a grin, "Seriously Quistis, you'll never know—" he walked away whistling a familiar tune.

Quistis sighed, "Whatever." –And she realized she'd just said Squall's ever so famous line of wisdom. She immediately stood up and began her walk to their house.

I'll face this, she told herself, I will face this.

She still had some packing to do……

~*~*~*

12

__

She had lost track of time, thinking about things. She wasn't even aware that she had reached her destination, Winhill. And just as fast, she found herself fidgeting with her handbag as she stood before the Inn counter. 

"And you are--?" the old innkeeper asked. 

Quistis paused and smiled faintly, a hand still absentmindedly searching for her purse, "Quistis, Quistis Trepe." She replied.

There was a pause, Quistis wasn't really paying much attention to the man. "How do you spell it? Qui—"

"Q, u, i, s, t, i, s—and then—T, r, e, p, e." she muttered.

There was yet another pause. 

She finally found it, her purse, only to be informed that—"Miss Trepe, you have a room reserved already."

That was then that she looked up, puzzled, no, dumbfounded. It was probably Laguna's doing. Yes, who else would have done it? But then again, Seifer could have made……

"Room 3" the innkeeper informed, and the only thing Quistis needed to do was to put her purse back in, and get the key.

Almost like a robot, she marched towards the stairs and mounted them. Was he waiting for her? 

He was a moron. Now if she ever found out that he'd only invited her to make her jealous, she knew, by tomorrow, she'd be in Estharian newspapers, as their President's killer.

Scratch that, she'd probably be the new Sorceress Ultimecia seeking to 'kompress' time by tomorrow if his only intention was that.

Question was, why on earth did she think of these things? It wasn't like Laguna knew about her feelings, she was just a very good friend to him, or was she?

She chose not to think of the possibilities as she stopped in front of a door. Room 3; it was written on the door with flourish and in white. This was it. She placed her hand on the knob and turned it gently.

Here goes….

~*~*~*

She'd almost fantasized seeing him sitting on the bed, waiting diligently for her, with that cute smile. She opened the door gently and entered in.

No Laguna. No dozens of peach flowers waiting for her, no nothing. It was just a simple, peaceful Winhill room, with an open window looking out to the fields, peach-colored curtains and bed covers……… Normal. Whatever made her think that was possible? Laguna knew better than to fall in love with a woman a year older than his son was!

Tired and half-disappointed because of her own fantasies, she threw herself on the bed. She lay there, staring up the ceiling for a few minutes before a question popped in her mind.

Where was Laguna and Joana? What was her purpose in being here, if there were any at all? 

She sat up then and gingerly took off the clip that held her golden locks up. She let them fall down her shoulders, and realized that it had been so long since she last let her hair fall just like that. She did sleep with her hair normally untied, but she'd never really let her hair down like that, on purpose. She then walked over to bathroom and stared at herself for the longest time. It was then that she decided that her hair should remain like that for the rest of the day.

It wasn't going to make much difference anyway. 

Splashing some cold water on her face, she decided that it was time to find Laguna. She walked out of the bathroom and then headed for the door. But just then, her cellphone rang. 

She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the direction of her handbag. Her cellphone was ringing. She walked over her handbag and pulled her cellphone out.

~*~*~*

"Hello? Quistis here."

"Hello, Quistis!"

"Laguna?"

"Yep, yep, Laguna here. Uhm, guess you're here… uhm… I need your help about something……"

"What?"

"Well, for one thing, I think I really am aging… I mean, well… I forgot where I set up our romantic little dinner setting!"

"You forgot what?!—"

"Man, yeah, I really am getting old.. ahem, I mean…… Can you do me a favor and find it for me while I try to distract Joana……And uhm… before it get's really dark?"

"Couldn't you just ask Kiros……or Ward……I mean—"

"Well, uhm, I though you'd do a better job… I was kinda embarrassed about it…ehm…I won't hear the end of it if I asked Kiros anyway……"

"……"

"Come on, it'll be fun…I guess…."

"..Question is, President Loire, how do I find it?"

"……Well, I do remember carrying a big dozen of roses on my way there…. Before I went to pick up Joana…. Maybe you can trace it…."

"…and get lost myself? Lag—"

"I mean, I'd do it myself… but—"

"but what?"

"Um.. Sorry, Quisty, gotta go before Joana get's angry or something… I swear it won't be that hard to find!"

"…Laguna… where are you first?"

*beep*

"Laguna? Laguna?"

~*~*~* 

13

With a huff, Quistis put on her coat and ran out of the inn. The sky was already beginning to turn orange, with streaks of purple and red—the mark that the day was about to end. As she promised to herself, she let her hair just as it was, and began her search for whatever it was Laguna wanted her to find.

Sure, the man was annoying. Sure the thing he asked her to do was unnerving. But, she was his friend, and she was sure she wouldn't want to ruin the hopeless romantic's supposedly romantic night with his ladylove.

Whatever it was, she was sure, wherever this romantic dinner setting was, it had to be somewhere someone as big as Laguna could get lost into. And it seemed that the only possible location would be somewhere where there were actually trees.

Thing was, Winhill didn't have big forest anywhere near it. 

Laguna must be getting all too forgetful. Or lazy.

She stopped just beside the Winhill flowershop and by instincts looked around. It was likely that Laguna got his flowers from that shop, and so the perfect place to look for the traces would somewhere near there. And surely, she spotted something peachy lying on the road in front of the flowershop. Walking over it and bending down to pick it up, she realized it was a rose. 

That was her first lead. The first trace.

She quickly decided that that was the road Laguna took to go to his 'dinner setting' thing. She breathed in deeply and followed the road then, keeping an open eye out for anymore roses…

~*~*~*

Before she knew it, she'd passed the inn already, and was taking some small pathway behind some houses. And she recognized one of them as the Miscellaneous shop just by the entrance of the town. 

She thought of herself as rather foolish for not noticing the roses just in front of the inn when she first set up to look for them almost an hour ago. It was getting somehow unnerving, really. She'd been out there, looking out and picking up roses for almost an hour… and it was already dark!

Plus, the forgetful President seemed to have forgotten about her. She'd brought her cellphone for nothing…… He hadn't even called her to at least give her some tiny assistance….

She spotted yet another rose lying on the ground and dashed towards it. Picking it up with a frown, she sighed; was it ever going to end?

She walked some more, almost aimlessly after placing the rose amongst all the other roses she'd found. She wasn't even that alert anymore….

She looked up to the sky and her heart sank. The moon was full, and just plain beautiful—the night was absolutely beautiful, and what was she stuck on doing? Gathering roses for a forgetful president. She clenched her fists, and was thankful the roses didn't have their torns anymore—It was unnerving!

She began to run, only stop, and stare at a rose taped to a backdoor.

She blinked several times. Nope, it wasn't on the floor. It was neatly taped on the door with a ribbon tied around it. She dashed towards the door and traced the rose. Was this it?

The cellphone rang.

~*~*~*

"Well, did you find it?"—it was Laguna.

She continued staring at the rose. "I think."

"Man, what I think… check it out, I don't think I can delay Joana any longer… she's getting—"

"Impatient? Well, I'll see…. But.. Laguna, where are—"

"Just check it out okay, I'm gonna be right there in a second! Just tell me where it is first."

"I have no idea.. yet… Let me see.." she placed a cold hand over the door knob and turned it to find it unlocked. The door swung open and she found herself in a familiar place.

"Well?"

"Well, I don't see a neatly made dinner setting here……" she paused and looked to her left—there was a stair. "But, maybe it's upstairs…"

"Yeah, you go check."

She mounted the flight of stairs and found herself in the second floor. There were three doors in the hall, three possibilities. 

Well, it wasn't as if two of those doors led to some sort of Sorceress chamber, there certainly was no danger there.

"There are three doors out here, Laguna. I guess, I'll see the one in the far right first…"

"You go do that. Okay… and fast……"

Quistis walked over to the door on the far right and slowly opened it. "Bedroom." She declared after surveying it a bit. She closed the door and moved to the door beside it. She slowly opened it and peeked inside. "Bathroom" she declared after seeing a bathub and all the other bathroom items. She quickly closed it again. There was only one door left.

"There's only one door left. Tell me Laguna, are you sure you really made a dinner setting? Or even finished it? Because I swear, if that—"

"I'm sure"

…Quistis was silent for a moment. "Okay."

She placed a hand on the doorknob. The cold metal made her feel stranger. Something was the matter, but she couldn't poke a finger into it……

She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes as she opened it. If she—

~*~*~*

There was a beep.

~*~*~*

14

~*~*~*

"Well, you found it."

~*~*~*

She opened her eyes and realized that she was in what was Laguna's room years ago when he'd stayed in there. 

There were dozens and dozens of roses all over the place, and a table was set in the middle of the room. 

"Well, you found it. Told you I had everything set."—It wasn't from her cellphone, it was from a casual-wearing Laguna standing by the table, a cellphone in one of his hands.

Quistis was by all means speechless. It was as if all the air in her lungs had been knocked off at that moment—and she felt downright embarrassed.

She stood up straight and looked at Laguna with mock-anger. "You were here all the time?"

Laguna grinned and motioned her to sit down before sitting down himself. "Well, I'm not THAT old yet." He began chuckling.

And once again, Quistis felt a little more foolish. 

She walked over to her seat and sat down. She then stared at Laguna. "May I know where Joana is?"

He chuckled, "I brought orange juice." He stated taking out a bottle of orange juice from somewhere and setting it on the table.

Quistis raised an eyebrow, "President Loire," she muttered in an intimidated voice. 

What was he up to?

Laguna grinned at her, "Let's eat first, okay. We're both starved, that I'm sure."

Quistis could only sigh and shake her head. That was just…too true.

~*~*~*

"Laguna, what is this all about? I don't think I know what all this is for." Did Joana dump you? Quistis was impatient. As much as she was actually in love for the guy, she plain didn't like not knowing things.

Besides it didn't seem as if the man was in love with her……

"Well—" Laguna fixed his gaze on her, and she found herself lost in his emerald eyes once again. "—Think of this as a ' thank you' treat… okay? I was just well, thinking that I should thank you for—um..every help you gave me."

Quistis was NOT satisfied. She folded her arms and gave the president a stern look. 

"President Laguna Loire, what exactly happened between you and Joana?" she questioned.

Laguna only chuckled—and that made Quistis ever so uncomfortable. For one thing, perhaps she knew him a little bit too well…especially after what Ellone did before…

"Honestly, Laguna. What exactly happened? She didn't dump you, did she?" she questioned again. Laguna only shook his head.

And as she watched him, the word 'beautiful' popped out in her mind.

"Then what?" she stood up and supported herself with her arms as she leaned over to stare into his eyes coldly.

He stared back at her. 

"Um.. Quistis, I'll sound stupid for the next ten minutes, but promise me after that you won't laugh, okay, and then you will forget."

"Forget? Forget what?"

"Well… this will get embarrassing and stupid, but heck, here I go……"

~*~*~*

"—Well, Quistis… you see.. uhm.. after that advice you gave me, I set off to find the perfect scarf, right? Well, you see… she did like it… but.. ugh…well… how do I put this…. Um… I think she got the idea that I was in love with her and such… and erm………she told me that I shouldn't bother…. That uh… she was engaged already…… but.. but…. Uhm… she… made me see something though……"

"You mean all the time she thought of you as a friend? That's close to impossible, Laguna!"

"Well….um…I guess she did… but the reason is… ah…she…ah……"

"She what?"

"………She thought….we…were….uh…….lovers?….."

For a second there Quistis was speechless. They actually looked like… or maybe she……

"Quistis, uhm……I DID tell her about the age difference and all, but man, she really said that……we DID look like lovers… and that…. and um……" Laguna trailed away and fixed his gaze worriedly on Quistis. "Crap, I sounded… uh…. damn, my leg."

That caught Quistis' attention immediately. Laguna was nervous? He was having leg cramps? 

She got on her feet then and walked over to Laguna, putting what he'd said earlier at the back of her mind. "President Loire—" she began, "are you okay?"

She felt uncomfortable. She didn't want to call the man by his first name. It didn't sound right, not anymore……

As she bent down to try and massage his leg, she felt his eyes fixed on her. 

He had to ask that question.

"Quistis, um……well…" he cleared his throat, "If I were younger… would you…ah…like me?"

She looked up, and saw his eyes. They were serious enough. "I like you, why? Did I sound like I didn't like you?"

There was a pause and Quistis returned her gaze to his leg. 

"Not really……I was just…thinking about what Joana said… about..."

Quistis continued without looking up.

"She said, there was someone out there…"

Quistis continued on, but she knew… she was getting redder and redder by the minute.

"Um… I hate to be blunt… but…was it….you?"

Stop. Stop. Stop. An alarm went off in her mind. Of all things… of all things… She reminded herself, what she'd thought of…… She can't.. she can't.. she can't be in love with the man.

He was far far older than her. 

..But as proven before, she was…… It was sad. It was obviously a one-sided love. She was in love with him. He… well, he was Laguna Loire.

Squall's dad.

Selphie's hero.

Raine's husband.

Julia Heartily's former lover.

The President of Esthar.

The moron who got cramps whenever he became nervous.

'The moron'—as Squall use to call him.

She paused whatever she was doing and looked up, and met his gaze. She would have answered.. but her voice seemed to have disappeared at the sight of him.

There was a rush of winds, and the window was thrown open, putting off the fire. The moon became their only light. And she found herself staring directly into the man's eyes. His eyes… they didn't seem old at all. They were young, filled with optimism, dreams…

Through the darkness, she saw only his eyes. 

She wanted to say yes. 

But before she knew it… she was in his arms, and their lips brushed in what was a simple, short and sweet kiss. 

That was it. Just as simple as that. And they knew.

~*~*~*

15

__

Kiros placed a hand on the doorknob and gently turned it. It was about time he dragged Esthar's President back to Esthar—where he was needed to at least…

Well, he couldn't think of a reason at the moment, but he knew that a president needed to stay in his country……

The door quietly opened and he felt for the light switch. When he finally found it, he switched it on—

And to his surprise—more like shock, he found the president with a blonde sitting on his lap. They were obviously happily chatting about something……

…And perhaps they were too engrossed with each other that they didn't notice at all when the lights went back.

He cleared his throat loudly—only to receive yet another shock.

Quistis was sitting ON the president's lap.

They turned to him—they were obviously surprised.

And he, was obviously shocked. So shocked that had someone been there, that someone would have mistaken him for Ward…given that that someone was told only that Ward was a man who couldn't talk.

He cleared his throat again. "I never thought fairytales like Beauty and the Beast can come to life." He declared before heading down the stairs, absolutely embarrassed.

Outside, Ward was waiting for him, and he gave Kiros a questioning look. Kiros, being wiser than Laguna was when it came to things like this, knew exactly what to say, "You don't want to know, Ward, you don't want to know."

~*~*~*

16

"That was so sweet!" Selphie declared as she leaned on the table. Quistis smiled faintly, "I had the feeling you'd say that…." she then got off her seat and left some gil on the table.

"It's about time we got back to Garden, Selphie, I'm sure they're already wondering where we are." Quistis said, as she smoothed the creases on her skirt.

Selphie got off her seat as well and headed for the door, "I wonder how things are in Garden now… Do you think Squall's up and ru—walking by now?"

"I guess so…" she began chuckling, "We'll never know.."

And they left the coffee shop.

~*~*~*

Quistis smiled at the sight of her husband standing by the Infirmary, "So, how did it go? How did Squall take it?"

Laguna scratched his head apologetically. "Well, he's fainted… again….Um… I was thinking…" he forced a cough.

Quistis laughed, "I don't think we should, not yet that is….."

And Laguna laughed.

~*~*~*

__

"So.. this was where you proposed to Raine?" Quistis questioned as she kneeled down to touch the cold marble of Raine's tombstone. The words "Raine Loire" were carved on it.

She smiled, "I don't know if…I'll ever be…" she looked up to him. "Do you think… she likes me? I.."

Laguna walked over to her side and smiled, "I think she… well, she likes you… I guess… she hasn't risen up her grave yet to scare the life out of both of us , yet…"

Quistis pouted at Laguna's dry joke. "Honestly, Laguna, do you think…?"

Laguna chuckled, "Yeah, I think so… I think…she's up there, smiling down at us…happy.. that I've finally moved on… I guess."

Quistis shook her head, "I hope she is…" she placed a rose on her tombstone and smiled in the way she would have smiled at Raine, "I'll take care of Squall… I promise…"

She was happy.

And they were wed.

~*~*~*

~*Epilogue*~

~*~*~*

Squall suddenly woke up, panting from what seemed to be a nightmare. Beside him, his wife was awakened. 

"What's wrong Squall?" Rinoa asked as she switched on the lamp beside their bed. Squall continued panting for a few moments before burying his face in his hands.

"…..I…I had a nightmare, Rinoa… I—" 

The raven-haired sorceress ran her hand into Squall's auburn hair, "You can tell me…. Was it about Garden being destroyed?"

Squall remained silent. 

"Squall, please tell me… we can't solve the problem if you won't tell me…. Hyne, I'm your wife!"

Squall was still silent. 

"Squall." She firmly stated.

There was a minute of silence and Squall looked up to her, his eyes as serious as ever. "I…I.. dreamt that—"

"Go on…"

"That….. that.. " he ran a hand through his hair—a sign of desperation.

"Squall, you can tell me, it won't hurt…. It.. was just a dream… "

Silent.

"Well… Rinoa.. I…. I dreamt that…."

"That..?"

"That……." he shook his head, "That Quistis married… my…dad…and.. and…… she.. we were in this party… and…"

"…."

"And she announced that she was pregnant!"

"…."

"Rinoa? What's wrong?"

Before Squall knew it, Rinoa was crying after laughing a little bit too much. "Squall… that announcement must have really gotten into you…."

"What… what do you mean?"

He didn't expect this….

"Don't you remember anything, Squall? The party?"

He DIDN'T want to remember. But he did. Quistis, his 'mother', had announced that she was pregnant, just roughly a few hours ago. And if he remembered it right, he fainted after that.

That didn't stop him from reacting the very same way he did some hours ago, though.

Poor Squall Leonhart Loire, fainted, yet again, leaving a hysterically laughing Rinoa beside him.

~*~*~*

Author's note: *laughs* Well, I'm done! Yeah! I guess I'm not as hyper anymore! Woot! I had fun writing this! Hehe.. sorry for the bit of Squall-bashing here… and yes… the OOC-ness.. I couldn't help it… I just…had to…*laughs even more* Poor Squall…*hugz Squall* I'm so sorry, but really, I couldn't help it……. *somewhere from the audience a hundred pieces of tomatoes comes crashing* *SPOT!* Oop… Why do I have a feeling I'll get flames for this…. *hides…* I deserve it, ne? Evil me made them a little.. wait.. a WHOLE lot OOC….. anyway… *dodges a late tomato* White Crescent is here signing off! *dodges cup noodles…*

~White Crescent

__

I survived! *SPLOT* *SQUEESH!* *BLOOP!* Oww…..


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